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Posteraro honored for 46 years of service

ST. MARYS – The St. Marys Recreation Board honored Denny Posteraro, recently retired recreation director, for 46 years of service to the city's recreation program during their meeting on Wednesday evening at St. Marys City Hall. Devin Brock, rec board member, presented Posteraro with a citation from the city, as well as a plaque from the recreation board. Rec board members also had cake and ice cream in honor of Posteraro, and had a number of scrapbooks on display that he made over the years to showcase the coverage of park activities. "We really can't say enough for all that you've done for the recreation program over all these years," Brock said. "I've been around for a couple years, but I think if you get a chance to look through all these scrapbooks, which you (Posteraro) probably know by heart, all the kids that have gone through some of the programs and the lives that have been touched by yourself, either directly or indirectly, really speaks volumes and I think so many people have said and made remarks as far as what a great program we have here. None of that could be here without your years of dedication."Brock noted that Posteraro was especially influential in working with the Stackpole Hall Foundation to secure funding. "We (the rec board) just can't say enough about what you've done, and your legacy will live on for a long, long time," Brock said. Posteraro remarked that the success of the recreation program was the result of the effort of a number of individuals, and credited in particular Brian Donahue, who served as assistant recreation director for a number of years and was also present at Wednesday evening's meeting, for the work that he put into advancing the program."(Donahue) and I had just a fantastic time and that's why I kept doing it. We'd go up there (to the park) and we'd just have a ball the entire time we were there," Posteraro said. Posteraro also credited Donahue with helping to keep him focused over the years. "I do things a little differently than what Brian does. With Brian, things are black and white - 'this is the way it needs to be done and this is how it should be done.' I've always appreciated that because sometimes I have a tendency to stray a little bit from that black and white. He (Donahue) always kept things in perspective of exactly what we should do, so his contribution to this is equal to mine. Everything that has happened up there (at Memorial Park) has happened with him involved with it," Posteraro said. Moving forward, Posteraro expressed the hope that whoever is selected to fill the position he vacated shares a similar vision for the future of the city's recreation program. "We (Donahue and I) are hoping that we have another director here, and I hope, you know, that it works out, that we have another director that shares the vision that Brian and I had for this rec program over the years. We're hoping this works out. Being involved in a program that includes people like Greg (Snelick), John (Schneider), and Matt (Pasi), it's important to have people that are there to do the job," Posteraro said. Posteraro also offered members of the recreation board some advice, encouraging them to watch the video of Steve Jobs' commencement address at Stanford University. "He (Jobs) talked about connecting the dots. Every once in a while - I see you've got some of our old scrapbooks out - every once in a while, take a look at those. Every once in a while, try to connect the dots - not going forward, but going backward - and seeing what actually happened and where we came from. Then, every once in a while, once you've found what the whole past meant to everybody and all the work that went into that past, evaluate what's going on now. Make an evaluation of what we have and what is actually happening. Take the things that are real good that we're doing and enhance them. Take the things that need a little bit of work and either remove them or make them better. Then look into the future and see what you can do to expand the program. I think the base has been set, but I think there are so many more things you can do," Posteraro said. Pick up a copy of the Friday, Nov. 4, 2011 edition of The Ridgway Record for more.